The five Heisman hopefuls before they were college stars (w/video)

By now, you probably know the five finalists for the Heisman Trophy, and you can vote in our poll for your favorite, but do you remember how these players were perceived coming out of high school?

Well, courtesy of the folks over at Rivals.com, we can look back in time right here. Check out their scouting rankings and watch high school video highlights of these future stars. This is normally premium content (meaning you have to shell out a few bucks for it) so again, thanks to Rivals.com for making it available here for you to enjoy.

Rated ahead of Luck:
1. Blaine Gabbert (Missouri). Gabbert is now struggling as the rookie starter for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
2. Dayne Crist (Notre Dame). Crist went from being the starter for the Fighting Irish to No. 3 on the depth chart this season.
3. Mike Glennon (N.C. State) Glennon had an erratic but fairly successful first year as a starter for the Wolfpack.

Rated ahead of Griffin:
1. Terrelle Pryor (Ohio State). Pryor started at quarterback for Ohio State from 2008-10 and was often electrifying with his athletic ability. His college career ended in scandal for selling memorabilia, however. He left school, and was taken by the Oakland Raiders in the NFL’s supplemental draft earlier this year.
2. E.J. Manuel (Florida State). Manuel became FSU’s starter this season, replacing Christian Ponder who departed for the NFL. He threw for 2,417 yards, 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 11 games.
3. MarQueis Gray (Minnesota). Gray passed for 1,495 yards with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions for the Gophers this season. He also ran for 966 yards and six scores.

Rated ahead of Richardson:
1. Bryce Brown (Tennessee). Brown transferred from Tennessee to Kansas State, where he played sparingly, left the team earlier this year and now is apparently done with college football.

Rated ahead of Ball:
Too many to list here, obviously, but be assured most of them haven’t measured up to Ball’s accomplishments. Besides the aforementioned Brown and Richardson, No. 3 on the list is current Texas A&M standout Christine Michael.

Rated ahead of Mathieu:
Again, we won’t list the dozen here, but the No. 1 rated corner was Lamarcus Joyner, who had three interceptions for Florida State this year. Suffice it to say no player on this list has had a bigger impact than the Honey Badger.